China Communist Youth League lashes out at ‘extreme feminists’ after being criticised for lack of representation
- The Youth League posted images on social media of important moments in Chinese lore to ‘promote positive energy’
- But people online were quick to notice that the images did not feature any women
The Communist Youth League of China, the official party organisation for Chinese youths, published an article that said “extreme feminism cannot be tolerated” after the group was criticised for not including a picture of any women in a series of photos showing key Communist Party moments.
The Long March lives in lore in the founding of the Communist Party, the Yalu River crossing has been used to represent China’s role fighting the US in the Korean war, and the Red Flag Canal has long symbolised the ability of Chinese people to live alongside, and harness, nature.
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Other pictures show people protecting property during a severe flood along the Yangtze River in 1998 and local residents praising Covid-19 volunteers.
The League said the post was aimed to promote positive energy and had been hijacked by feminists who pointed out that there was not a single woman in these pictures.
One person wrote that all of the people involved in the photos were men.
“How do you avoid using pictures of those women heroes who made contributions to the country?” wrote a person on Weibo.
Another person asked: “Aren’t women entitled to be included in these pictures?”
While two of the pictures feature mostly men, four of the images feature large crowds, or people wearing Covid-19 hazmat suits, so it’s impossible to tell their genders.
The League wrote on Weibo that the critics were “triggering public outrage” and that people online had engaged in “gender confrontation” to attract attention.
Extreme feminism cannot be tolerated.
“Extreme feminism has become more rampant and its toxicity is fierce,” it wrote. “It’s urgent for all internet users to remove this tumour and let the online sphere regain a clean environment.”
Beijing Evening News, the mouthpiece of the Beijing municipal government, published a commentary on Weibo that said it was time to discipline “fake feminists” who waved sticks to attack other people.
“Advocating for the equality between men and women does not mean yelling slogans and encouraging extremism, nor creating confrontations and dividing the society,” the newspaper said.
“We should respect the gender differences, recognise ourselves and build a harmonious society through our actions; this is true feminism,” it wrote.
But a person criticised the Beijing Evening News on Weibo, saying: “Why do you not dare to say ‘equality between women and men?’ Does this term burn your mouth?”
